Youth Demand supporters have disrupted the London Marathon:
RACE AGAINST TIME TO SAVE GAZA: YOUTH DEMAND SUPPORTERS DISRUPT LONDON MARATHON
At 10:30am, Willow and Cristy jumped the barriers at Tower Bridge and sat down in front of the men's elite race at the London Marathon, wearing 'Stop Arming Israel' t-shirts.
Gaza is running out of… pic.twitter.com/LxEVhGI29g
— Youth Demand (@youth_demand) April 27, 2025
Youth Demand is a youth-led civil resistance group calling for the government to impose a full trade embargo on Israel, and make the fossil fuel elite pay damages to communities and countries most harmed by fossil fuel burning.
At approximately 10:35am on Sunday 27 April, two Youth Demand supporters jumped over the barriers and threw red powder paint in front of the men’s elite race at the London marathon as it crossed Tower Bridge. The two supporters were seen wearing t-shirts that read ‘Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel.’ City of London police quickly moved to arrest the pair.
Youth Demand: righteous anger at the London Marathon
Before taking action at the London Marathon, Youth Demand’s Willow Holland, 18, from Bristol, said:
I am taking action with Youth Demand because I have run out of other options: thousands are being killed in Gaza, our government is making no effort to stop it and no other course of action, marches or rallies, has worked. I refuse to be complicit in a genocide funded by our politicians.
Profit should never be prioritised over basic decency, we’re taking action for human lives and human rights. We don’t want blood on our hands, we don’t want to be forced into complicity with a genocide. We need more people in resistance, refusing to be complicit whilst upholding international law, now more than ever. Join us in resistance, sign up at youthdemand.org.
Also taking action was Cristy North, a live-in carer from Nottingham, who said:
I’m taking action today at the London marathon because the people in Palestine are running out of time. We have tried all other avenues to get the government to stop arming Israel and yet our government is still enabling a genocide. They are making the UK people complicit in breaking UK domestic law by using our taxes to arm a genocidal state, breaking humanitarian international law.
I absolutely refuse to be complicit with it in any way, and I’m disgusted at this government’s inaction, and the absolute absurdity of politicians completely ignoring international laws. This is absolutely urgent, and this is why I’m taking part in civil disobedience.
Commenting on the action, a spokesperson from Youth Demand said:
This is a race against time: Gaza is running out of food. Millions of starving Palestinians are being bombed with UK complicity. By continuing to arm Israel, Starmer has crossed the line from genocidal denial to genocidal complicity. We can’t allow politicians to run away from accountability for their war crimes. History will judge all the bystanders that cheered on this monstrous crime.
Israel: ongoing genocide and war crimes
This action comes as the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) says its food stocks in Gaza, which more than 400,000 people rely on, have been completely “depleted” by Israel’s blockade. Since March 2nd, Israel has fully blocked all aid supplies, including food, medicine and fuel, from entering Gaza, in defiance of a 2024 order from the World Court. At least 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal onslaught on Gaza.
Since December 2023, the British army has flown over 500 spy flights over Gaza, raising fears of complicity in Israeli war crimes. These continued during and after the ceasefire, despite Israel’s bombing campaign killing thousands of children. The UK government has also refused to deny Israeli F-35 fighter jets bombing Gaza have access to the Akrotiri RAF bases in Cyprus.
Two British MPs who have recently visited from the occupied West Bank to see Israel’s treatment of Palestinians have told of being detained and had guns pointed at them by Israeli police. MP Shockat Adam warned that the West Bank could turn into the next Gaza and said that “we are one minute to midnight at this moment.”
Youth Demand said:
Young people will not accept these crimes against humanity and we will not be led by war criminals and arsonists. We cannot allow those in power to get away with facilitating the systematic annihilation of an entire people. Only mass resistance can put an end to this genocide. Join us at youthdemand.org.
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